10 Wedding Photographers to Follow Today (on Instagram)

With over 16 billion photos shared on Instagram so far (a number that is growing each day by 55 million), it can be a trying task to sift through the social media site and find the best people to follow. Wedding photographers in particular have begun to take over this new photo-sharing sphere in great stride, meaning that the 55 million number is potentially filled with breathtaking, innovative nuptial moments. Looking for some great inspiration to follow? We found 10 wedding photographers to follow on Instagram today.

Device of choice: iPhone 4GSFavorite filter: “I don’t like IG filters,” Kiene says. “If I had to use one I’d use Valencia, but mostly I enjoy editing in Snapseed.”
[Kiene’s relationship with social media is also documented inRangefinder‘s article “Social Butterflies.”]

Followers: 97,652Location: Solvang, CAFavorite Instagram shot: “I don’t have an exact image in mind I love,” says Villa. “But I tend to love images that show landscapes that are hard to get to, ones where not so many people have ever been.”

Followers: 32,091Location: Toronto, New York City, Los Angeles and VirginiaFavorite Instagram shot: “I took this in Japan,” Melconian says. “I was hired to shoot a wedding there for a Japanese couple and this is the bridge overlooking Meoto Iwa [or ‘the wedded rocks’], which has an interesting history and significance to newlyweds from all over who walk this path. Visually, I love the muted palette of this place, and with her ceremonial wedding gown, I set her up to reflect on the ceremony that was about to take place minutes from this bridge.”

Followers: 22,950Location: Los Angeles, CAFavorite Instagram shot: “This was my cousin’s wedding, and after the ceremony heading to the reception, an ice cream truck pulled up right outisde of the gates,” Rapada says. “It was perfect timing for the couple, since this day was a record heatwave for Los Angeles.”

Followers: 8,164Location: Nashville, TNFavorite Instagram shot: “I recently took a picture while in Dingle, Ireland,” says Petaja, who recently shot RF’s “Wedding of the Week.” “I was shooting this beautiful model at sunrise on a cliff overlooking the ocean and decided to have her hold a cloth because the wind was so intense. I thought about shooting it in video mode because I loved the flow of everything in the image, but I decided to keep it consistent and take a picture.”

Device of choice: “I shoot with the [iPhone] 4 only because I’m waiting for the new phone to be released,” Petaja says. “I envy those with a 5!”Favorite filter: “I try to be a purist and keep things clean and simple,” Petaja says. “I edit all my images in VSCO and use no filters.”

Followers: 3,986Location: Richmond, VAFavorite Instagram shot: “The moment itself was completely unplanned,” Stoops recalls. “It had been down-pouring at this wedding, and when the rain finally let up, I still had to do portraits with the couple. Unfortunately, it started to sprinkle again, so they hid under the giant palms, and this shot naturally happened.”

Device of choice: “While a lot of my Instagram posts are film, when I post a phone-based shot I’m using an iPhone 5,” Stoops says. “I’ll then edit it in Afterlight and directly into VSCO.”Favorite filter: “I am a big fan of the black-and-white filters that VSCO has created, but I tend to lean toward using their F2 filter for any color photos with vibrant green tones,” Stoops says.

Followers: 3,983Location: New York City and Los AngelesFavorite Instagram shot: “Sunset is my favorite time to shoot,” Covey says. “This couple was amazing, and we were in one of the most beautiful locations in California. A sunset kiss not only captured the moment but the couple, setting and colors of the sky.”

Device of choice: iPhone 5, occasionally PhotoForge2 “to tweak if something is a little too dark,” Kelley says.Favorite filter: “As of late, I have been digging straight up images with no filter,” Kelley says, “but I use Sierra for color and Willow for black-and-white.”

Followers: 860Location: San FranciscoFavorite Instagram shot: “I think the main reason why we use Instagram is that there’s such a huge wave of creativity to see—there’s really no one image we find so appealing as to call it our favorite,” Jared explains. They employ hashtags, such as #behindthescenes or #soandsoswedding to promote their business.Device of choice: “Edyta has an iPhone 4s, and I’m still in the dark ages with the iPhone 4,” Jared says. “Our curated Instagram feed focuses on singular filters. We love the 70s, polaroid-type filters, low contrast, clean and simple. I am a big fan of VSCO filters and the fact that they seek creative entities like Street Etiquette to reinvent filters based upon their stylistic scope.”Favorite filter: Walden

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Libby Peterson

Libby Peterson is the Features Editor of Rangefinder. A Minneapolis native, she moved to New York after graduating from Indiana University’s School of Journalism in 2013, starting off as the magazine's editorial intern.

3 Comments

I suppose this story shows the power of photography. See, the image that Naz has chosen to show here is “his” shot, meaning he took it on his Contax 645 – but there is a huge backstory that has been manipulated to romanticize it. See, there was no wedding – the man was from Canada, and the bride from Japan. I was hired to photograph engagement portraits of them in Japan and about 20 minutes earlier, they rein-acted a traditional Shinto wedding ceremony – it was all for show, just to go through the motions. In fact, the area is a huge tourist area, so it really was a show. The wedding (legal) was in Canada a month later.
I find it really interesting how this image, while nice, is being shown here as something that it was not. Naz was hired to come to Japan the day before, on my request, to shoot Super8mm film of their weekend together…he snuck in some film shots, and has been pawning them off ever since.
The saying is right…every photo has a story, even if it’s a flat out lie.

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The Wedding Photographers Association
The 1970s were strong building years for Rangefinder's yearly gross, as well as its circulation. Born of the same concept as Rangefinder, a new company emerged: Wedding Photographers of America, which eventually became Wedding Photographers International (WPI) in 1978. The organization was formed in response to industry-wide demand for an organization devoted solely to the special interests and needs of wedding photographers. Read more »